Good morning. It's Monday, Jan. 25, and we're covering the loss of two American legends, impeachment plans, and Super Bowl LV. Have feedback? Let us know at [email protected].

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NEED TO KNOW

Hank Aaron Dies

Baseball legend and longtime home run king Hank Aaron passed away Friday at the age of 86. The cause of death was not revealed, though a family representative said Aaron died peacefully in his sleep at home.

Nicknamed "Hammerin' Hank," Aaron smashed a number of league records during his 23 seasons with the Milwaukee (and then Atlanta) Braves, and remains the leader in runs batted in (2,297), total bases (6,856), and extra-base hits (1,477). He is perhaps best known for breaking Babe Ruth's home run record in 1974, a mark that seemed insurmountable and represented a milestone for Black athletes at the time. Watch the video of Aaron's record-breaking 715th home run here.

Also over the weekend, iconic television host Larry King passed away at the age of 87. Having interviewed an estimated 60,000 subjects, King pioneered a soft style of questioning to coax responses from his guests. No cause of death was given, though King had recently been hospitalized with COVID-19. 

Impeachment Trial

The Senate impeachment trial of former President Trump will begin the week of Feb. 8, according to plans released by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY). The decision comes after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D, CA-12) announced the House would send a single article of impeachment (read here) to the upper chamber today. In principle, a trial must begin 24 hours after the Senate receives an article of impeachment; however, both sides have agreed that ceremonial steps will begin today, followed by pretrial briefs, with the full trial beginning in earnest Feb. 9. 

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said he would not whip votes—meaning lean on members to vote for acquittal—leaving it up to individual senators to decide. Conviction, which would likely bar Trump from running for federal office again, would require, at minimum, 17 Republican votes to reach the two-thirds threshold—a prospect that appears unlikely. 

Separately, the Senate confirmed retired Gen. Lloyd Austin as secretary of defense Friday. The 93-2 vote made Austin the first Black leader of the Defense Department; see his bio here.

Super Bowl LV

Super Bowl LV will feature a multigenerational matchup of the league's best quarterbacks, with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and quarterback Tom Brady facing off against the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs and quarterback Patrick Mahomes. 

Brady—who outdueled quarterback Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay yesterday, 31-26—breaks his own record, becoming the first quarterback to start in 10 Super Bowls. More notably, Brady's 10th appearance comes in his first season with Tampa Bay, after having been with the New England Patriots for 20 seasons. 

Mahomes, who beat the Buffalo Bills 38-24, is 18 years younger than Brady and faces a stiff challenge—the last team to win back-to-back Super Bowls was the Brady-led New England Patriots in 2004-05. 

Super Bowl LV will be held Feb. 7 in Tampa Bay, Florida—it will be the first time in NFL history a team will compete for a Super Bowl in its home stadium.

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SUPER BOWL SQUARES IS BACK

Rocket Mortgage®, the Official Mortgage Sponsor of Super Bowl LV, is back with the largest official game of Super Bowl Squares ever.* With millions of dollars in prizes and free entry, it’s an excellent reason to tune in (especially if you’re usually only in it for the snacks). 

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Winners will be announced live via @RocketMortgage Twitter and Facebook feeds, as well as on the website. Will you be a lucky winner this year? Enter for free and be sure to tune in to Super Bowl LV on Feb. 7, 2021 on CBS.

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IN THE KNOW

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

> Tom Brokaw, who anchored "NBC Nightly News" from 1982 to 2004, retires after 55-year career with the network (More) | James Bond film "No Time to Die" delayed for third time to Oct. 8 due to coronavirus, more than a year and a half after its originally planned release (More)

> Dustin Poirier upsets Conor McGregor with a second-round technical knockout at UFC 257; first time in McGregor’s career he’s lost by knockout (More)

> South African musician and anti-apartheid activist Jonas Gwangwa dies at age 83 (More) | Walter Bernstein, Oscar-nominated screenwriter who was “blacklisted” during 1950s Red Scare, dies at 101 (More) | Perry Botkin Jr., Grammy-winning and Oscar-nominated film and TV composer, dies at 87 (More)

Science & Technology

> Preliminary studies suggest a coronavirus variant from South Africa may cause a modest reduction in the efficacy of current vaccines (More) | The US has reported 419,215 total COVID-19 deaths as of this morning; rolling average of new cases has fallen for 13 days (see data) | More than 41 million vaccines doses distributed, with almost 21 million administered (More)

> New modeling sheds light on how the forelimb function of tetrapods evolved roughly 390 million years ago; developments were part of the key process that led ocean-dwelling animals onto land (More)

> Research teams set record for most stable laser transmission sent through open air; approach lets information be passed at the speed of light between two locations (More)

Business & Markets

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> US existing home sales increase to the highest level since 2006, reaching a record high median price of $296K in 2020; figure rose 9% year-over-year (More)

> Google threatens to shut down its search engine in Australia in response to draft legislation that would require the company to pay news publishers for content use (More)

> Trading of video game retailer GameStop is halted numerous times as short squeeze drives shares up more than 50% Friday (More) | What’s a short squeeze? (More)

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Politics & World Affairs

> Russian officials arrest more than 2,000 people during widespread protests in support of jailed dissident Alexei Navalny; opposition leader recently recovered from being poisoned, allegedly carried out by Russian intelligence services (More)

> The US sends a carrier group into the South China Sea following a Chinese incursion into Taiwanese airspace (More) | Background on China-Taiwan tensions (More)

> Former Vatican bank chief sentenced to nine years in prison for embezzlement and money laundering (More)

WANT TO WIN EVEN MORE MONEY?

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As if a chance at up to $500,000 wasn’t enough, the Rocket Mortgage® Super Bowl Squares Sweepstakes is giving you even more ways to win.*

Meet bonus squares. Simply share your unique link with friends and every time someone enters using your link, you’ll get to pick a bonus square. Enter for free today for your chance to win.

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ETCETERA

How to create your own luck.

The world's most expensive pet fish. 

A New York zoo welcomes a rare white kangaroo.

Mapping the wisdom from around the world. 

TikTok becomes the most time-consuming app.

Paleontologists may have found the largest land animal in history.

Can this happy lamp cure the quarantine blues?

Keep your new iPhone away from your pacemaker.

Clickbait: Cookie Monster found inside a rock.

Historybook: First Winter Olympics take place in Chamonix, France (1924); Battle of the Bulge comes to an end (1945); Al Capone dies (1947); HBD Alicia Keys (1981); RIP Mary Tyler Moore (2017).

"Take chances, make mistakes. That's how you grow."

- Mary Tyler Moore

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